N E I 
About two o’clock, great part of the Danilli line had 
ceafed to fire, and many of them had ftruck; but, though 
the victory was 1 complete, yet it was difficult to take pof- 
leftion of the vanquilhed (hips, on account of the fire 
from the ihore, which was Hill kept up. Nell'on was irri¬ 
tated at this; and the more fo, as part of his own fleet 
was in a perilous Hate. The crown-batteries were, as yet, 
untouched, as were the fliips at the entrance of thearlenal; 
while two of his own were a-ground, and others in immi¬ 
nent hazard of a like fate. At this critical period lord 
Nelfon, with the prefence of mind of one familiarized to 
danger, inftantly opened a negociation : pretending that 
he had been urged to this ftep through humanity to the 
vanquifned Danes, he thus wrote to the crown-prince : 
“ Lord Nelfon has directions to fpare Denmark, when no 
longer refilling; but, if the firing is continued on the part 
of Denmark, lord Nelfon muft be obliged to fet on-fire all 
the floating batteries he has taken, without having the 
power of faving the brave Danes who have defended them.” 
A wafer was given him for his letter; but he ordered wax 
and a candle, faying, he did not wifli it to appear that 
he was hurried. This meafure put an end to further car¬ 
nage ; and, on the landing of lord Nelfon, the prelimi¬ 
naries of a treaty were arranged, which finally terminated 
the difpute. The death of Paul, though not then known, 
had happened about nine days before this dreadful en¬ 
gagement ; and thus the northern confederacy was anni¬ 
hilated. For this fignal fervice, in which lord Nelfon 
has been applauded as well for his adroitnels as a nego- 
ciator and liatefman, as for his courage and talents as 
an admiral, he was railed to the rank of vifcount. “ There 
was fome prudence,” fays a biographer, “ in thus dealing 
out honours to him ftep by ftep: had he lived, he would 
have fought his way to a dukedom.” 
The preparations made for the invafion of England 
from Boulogne, having now excited a great alarm in the 
nation, it was thought advifable to calm the public fears 
by entrufting the marine defence to the popular hero; and 
lord Nelfon was appointed commander-in-chief of a fqua- 
dron, with the whole attached flotilla of gun-boats, bomb- 
veffels, &c. Refolving to attempt fomething that was 
worthy of his name, and the celebrity to which he had 
attained; fomething that fhould eft'eft more than a tem¬ 
porary fecurity; he planned a vigorous attack upon the 
enemy’s veffels before Boulogne .harbour. This was 
executed on the 16th of Augult, 1801; but, from a rnif- 
taken calculation of the enemy’s preparations, and from 
the extreme difficulty of the enterprife, it proved un- 
fuccefsful. He however received the thanks of the firft 
lord of the admiralty in very warm terms : “ I cannot,” 
fays lord St. Vincent, “ fufficiently exprefs my admiration 
of the zeal and perfevering courage with which this gal¬ 
lant enterprife was followed up, lamenting mod fincerely 
the lol's fuftained in it. The manner in which the boats 
of the flotillawere made fall to the ground, and to each 
other, could not have been forefeen. The higheit praife 
is due to your lordfhip, and all under your command, 
who were aflors in this gallant attempt.” 
The enfuing peace reftored lord Nelfon to his friends 
on-lhore, and to the enjoyment of that renown which 
rendered all his journeys of amufement to different parts 
of the kingdom fo many triumphal progrefles. On the 
termination of the Ihort-lived peace, lord Nelfon, more 
fitted for action than 'repofe, accepted the command of 
the Mediterranean fleet, and in May 1803 failed for 
Gibraltar in his flag-fhip the Vi&ory. It was his par¬ 
ticular bulinefs to watch the Toulon fleet; but he dif- 
dained a clofe blockade, and rather wiftied to give the 
enemy an opportunity of coming out, and trying his 
ftrength and fortune againft him. This was not fo fuc- 
cefsful as he anticipated ; for, after having been on the 
look-out for two years with an inferior force, they efcaped 
him, formed a junction with the Spaniards, and ran for 
the Weft Indies, whither Nelfon foon followed, The 
enemy’s fleet now confifted of eighteen fail of the line 
Vol. XVI, No. 114.7, 
SON. 705 
and fix frigates, having 12,000 troops a-board; which 
Nelfon did not hefitate to purfue with ten fhips and three 
frigates. This extraordinary chafe acrofs the Atlantic 
was condudled with lingular order and expedition. The 
mere terror of Nelfon’s name compelled them to fly before 
him; but falfe intelligence milled him, and they fecured 
their return to Europe, without having accomplilhed any 
other part of their purpofe than that of reinforcing fome 
of their own illands; ours were preferved from pillage, 
invafion, and perhaps conquell, by this purfuit, which, 
in all its circumftances, cannot be parallelled in naval 
hiftory. Having purfued them to Europe, and found 
that they had joined the fleet from Ferrol, and had got 
fafe to Cadiz, he returned to England ; and, after a vifit 
of three weeks to his feat at Merton, he failed again in 
the Vidlory to join admiral Collingwood with the fleet 
off Cadiz. He reached this llation on his birth-day, Sep¬ 
tember 29, 1805, on which day the French admiral, Ville- 
neuve, received orders to put to fea the firft opportunity. 
In point of preparation the two fleets were fuppofed to be 
on an equality; but, in refpeiil to force, the French were 
the ftronger in the proportion of nearly three to two, they 
having 34 fliips of the line of 74 guns and upwards ; and 
under lord Nelfon there were but 24 of the fame rank : 
in frigates they out-numbered him in a fimilar proportion. 
Early in the month of Odlober, lord Nelfon received in¬ 
formation which led him to imagine the enemy would 
foon put to fea. He had already arranged a plan, accord¬ 
ing to which he determined to fight. He was aware of 
the mifchief of too many lignals, and was refolved never 
to dillradt the attention of his fleet on the day of adlion 
by a great number of them. On the 4th of Odlober he 
affembled the admirals and captains of the fleet into the 
cabin of his fliip, the Vidtory, and laid before them a new 
and Ample mode of attack. Every man comprehended 
his method in a moment, and felt certain that it muft 
fucceed. It proved irrefiftible. 
Lord Nelfon did not remain direflly off Cadiz with his 
fleet, or even within fight of the port. His objedl was to 
induce the enemy to come out; with this view he llationed 
his fleet in the following manner. The Euryalus frigate 
was within half a mile of the mouth of the harbour, to 
watch the enemy’s movements, and to give the earlieft 
intelligence. At a llill greater diftance he had feven or 
eight fail of the line. He himfelf remained oft’ Cape St. 
Mary with the reft of the fleet, and a line of frigates ex¬ 
tended and communicated between him and the feven or 
eight fail off Cadiz. The advantage of this plan was, 
that he could receive ample lupplies and reinforcement 
off Cape St. Mary, without the enemy being informed ofs 
it; and thus they always remained ignorant of the real 
force under his command. Villeneuve had alfo been milled 
by an American, unintentionally on his part, who de¬ 
clared that he was fure Nelfon could not poffibly be with the 
fleet, as he had feen him in London but a few days before. 
Relying on this, and on their own fuperiority, they put 
to lea on the 19th; and on the 21ft lord Nelfon inter¬ 
cepted them off Cape Trafalgar, about fixty miles eaft of 
Cadiz. When his lordlhip found that, by his manoeuvres, 
he had placed the enemy in fuch a fituation, that they 
could not avoid an engagement, he difplayed much ani¬ 
mation, and his ufual confidence of vidtory. “ Now,” 
laid he, “ they cannot efcape us; I think we may make 
fure of twenty of them ; I lhall probably lofe a leg, but 
that will be purchafing a vidlory cheaply.” Notwith- 
ftanding this light way of fpeaking, Nelfon never went 
into battle but with a full lenle of its danger; and he 
feems, on all occafions of the kind, rather to have pre¬ 
pared his mind for'death, than to have taken any means 
to banilh the thought of it. On the morning of this, his 
laft contell for glory and immortality, he wrote a prayer 
in his journal; and folemnly bequeathed (not his wife, 
but) lady Hamilton as a legacy to his king and country. 
He had put on the coat which he always wore in adtion, 
and kept for that purpofe with a degree of veneration : 
8 R it 
